Government Contracts Monitor
“Do Not Pay” List Coming in a Few Months
October 7, 2011
Contractors who are not current on their federal taxes may not get paid by the Federal Government, once the new “Do Not Pay” List is up and online. The Treasury Department is expected to release its full “Do Not Pay” List within the next few months, according to a recent internet posting from the Office of Management and Budget.
This List will integrate several existing databases into a single source that federal agencies will be required to check before issuing payments to contractors and individuals. The hope is that the List will prevent improper payments to suspended or debarred contractors, contractors who owe money to the Federal Government such as unpaid taxes, and deceased, incarcerated, or otherwise ineligible individuals.
The List was first introduced in a Presidential memorandum on June 18, 2010 as an extension to the integration efforts involved in implementing the Federal Awardee Performance and Integrity Information System (FAPIIS). The Treasury Department has already launched verifypayment.govas the agency access point for the List, but hasn’t fully integrated all of the databases yet. The combined databases includethe General Services Administration's Excluded Parties List System, the Department of the Treasury's Debt Check Database, the Social Security Administration's Death Master File, the Department of Housing and Urban Development's Credit Alert System / Credit Alert Interactive Voice Response System, and the Department of Health and Human Services' Office of Inspector General's List of Excluded Individuals/Entities.
Some in the contractor community have expressed concern that there may be glitches in the List when it first launches. Such potential problems may cause the government to withhold proper payments to contractors that are mixed up in the system and mistaken for companies on the List with similar names.
Katie Calogero is the attorney responsible for the content of this article.